io9's "20 best science fiction books of the decade"

**nquixote** · December 13th, 2009, 07:52 AM

Here's the list:

Acacia, by David Anthony Durham
Air, by Geoff Ryman
The Alchemy of Stone, by Ekaterina Sedia
The Baroque Cycle, by Neal Stephenson
Confessions of Max Tivoli, by Andrew Sean Greer
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cor Doctorow
The Execution Channel, by Ken MacLeod
Glasshouse, by Charles Stross
Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Look to Windward,by Iain M. Banks
The Mount, by Carol Emshwiller
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge
Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton
World War Z, by Max Brooks

Obviously, the list includes fantasy.

I'm embarrassed by how few of these I've read. Then again, I've read very little sci-fi from the 00s, period.

I'd definitely replace he Baroque Cycle with Anathem, it's the better Stephenson book for sure.

**wwfward** · December 13th, 2009, 09:55 AM

The Mount by Carol Emshwilller looks really good. I'm going to pick that up.

Carol Emshwiller's quiet, disturbing novel The Mount is about what happens when small alien invaders called Hoots take over the planet and begin breeding humans for transportation. Hoots have weak legs that fit perfectly around human necks, as well as superior weapons that easily convert the disobedient to dust. What's compelling about this beautifully-written novel, though, is that it's no simple "aliens oppress humans" tale. It explores what happens when humans get used to, and even enjoy, their servitude.

**psikeyhackr** · December 13th, 2009, 03:49 PM

Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling

Science fiction books?

Science fiction is dying because people don't give a damn what they call science fiction.

psik

**cgw** · December 13th, 2009, 06:29 PM

I have only read 3 on the list. But of the 3 only one belongs on a "best of" list (I am not saying the other 2 are bad, just not best of). So to extrapolate, I need to find out what other 5-2/3 I should read. Of the books on the list you have read, how many do you think belong on a “best of” list?

**Keyoke** · December 13th, 2009, 07:04 PM

I'm a little susprised to Acacia on this list, I mean, it was a decent book, but, many of the books on that list show a certain degree of uniqueness.

Odd..

**Michigan** · December 13th, 2009, 08:41 PM

I've only read one book from that list. I blame this on the incompetency of the list. No Peter Hamilton or Alastair Reynolds? I know i'm not the only one who loves those two authors.

**NYCfan** · December 13th, 2009, 09:53 PM

I've read less than half of those. Loved the Banks, Clarke, Mieville, and Chiang. Not a big Harry Potter fan, not sure why any adults are.

**Ropie** · December 15th, 2009, 03:14 AM

Originally Posted by NYCfan

not sure why any adults are.

Basically, because they are a bit funny.

That list doesn't impress me because I have read Air and Look to Windward and would not have put either of them amongst my favourite books list. That said, it shows the generally low quality of SF from this decade in that it also includes several very obviously fantasy books. I'm not surprised this is the case though as the 00's were long held to be the decade in which science fiction became science fact so maybe too much attention has been turned towards that. Hopefully, as it becomes clear that a 20-- prefix to the date does not mean real life spaceships, teleportation and gigantic revelations, authors can get back on with the important task of re-inventing the future for our entertainment..

**FarOffPlaces** · December 15th, 2009, 05:21 AM

Originally Posted by Michigan

I've only read one book from that list. I blame this on the incompetency of the list. No Peter Hamilton or Alastair Reynolds? I know i'm not the only one who loves those two authors.

Youre not the only one. Hamilton is my favorite pure scifi writer.

**Werthead** · December 15th, 2009, 10:26 AM

With the exception of Pandora's Star Hamilton has not, this decade, produced work as impressive and noteworthy as his 1990s output. Even though Misspent Youth is quite amusing in that it predicted the current struggle with people trying to make money out of entertainment when that entertainment can be pirated in seconds with no real problem (although even when it came out in 2002 that was clearly going to be the case, so maybe not that prescienct).

Reynolds has had a much better decade, producing nine pretty good novels, two of which will likely go down as classics (Chasm City and Pushing Ice), and three very strong collections. For quantity versus quality, I'd rate him as the best SF novelist of the decade (and certainly a write who knocks Stross and Doctorow into a cocked hat).

Best individual SF novel of the decade has to go to Christopher Priest's The Separation, also his only novel of the decade.

Acacia's presence is oddball. A Storm of Swords is far more important and influential on the output of epic fantasy this decade, with several major writers citing it and the other volumes of ASoIaF as direct influences (Bakker, Abercrombie, Lynch, Durham, Abraham) or a major work of the genre even if they are going in a slightly different direction (Rothfuss, Sanderson).

I'd be tempted to swap out Jonathan Strange for Mary Gentle's superior Ash: A Secret History, which is also much more overtly SF.

**nquixote** · December 15th, 2009, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by Werthead

With the exception of Pandora's Star Hamilton has not, this decade, produced work as impressive and noteworthy as his 1990s output.

Actually, I liked Judas Unchained better than Pandora's Star, and on the whole I liked the Commnwealth Saga better than the Night's Dawn trilogy (especially the ending!)...

**Andols** · December 15th, 2009, 02:10 PM

pattern recognition looks really out of place in that list to me. i thought it was decent but certainly not awe inspiring.

**phil_geo** · December 15th, 2009, 11:16 PM

I read this forum every day, and there are many books on the list that I have never heard of or even seen mentioned in this forum:

Acacia, by David Anthony Durham
Air, by Geoff Ryman
The Alchemy of Stone, by Ekaterina Sedia
Confessions of Max Tivoli, by Andrew Sean Greer
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cor Doctorow
The Execution Channel, by Ken MacLeod
The Mount, by Carol Emshwiller
Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang
Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton

Anyone here read them and want to recommend them? I would hate to miss out on some of the best books of the decade.